How to Make Tangy, Chewy, Crispy Dosas at Home

If you wanted to try to capture the essence of South India in a single food, dosa might be it. The savory fermented crêpe, folded over spiced vegetable fillings, is eaten from breakfast to dinner across the subcontinent and around the world. Most people know the dosas you see at restaurants — the impossibly thin version that spans the length of a table, forcing you to push back your seat so you don’t crush its lacy, crispy edges. Homemade dosas are not so dramatic.

“Dosas made at home will seldom be as big or thin as restaurant dosas, but the smaller, pancake-size dosas are just as good, maybe even better,” notes Anita Jaisinghani, chef and owner of Houston’s Pondicheri restaurant, in her cookbook Masala: Recipes from India, the Land of Spices. 

Like many South Indian cooks, Jaisinghani keeps a batch of batter at the ready at home, soaking lentils and rice, then grinding and fermenting the batter to achieve the sour notes essential to a good dosa.

Making dosas is an art that depends on the elements. At my grandparents’ house in Visakhapatnam, India, the warm air and humidity that floated through the open windows ensured that the batter fermented easily, forming bubbles and rising in just a few hours. I don’t get the same results in my chilly apartment in Chicago, but Jaisinghani’s recipe is designed to work even in air-conditioned kitchens. The batter needs the room temperature to be warm (75°F to 80°F) to ferment, but you can stash it in a turned-off oven with the light on if you keep your home cooler.

Each dosa cooks in minutes before it’s filled with sautéed greens, vegetables, chutney, or, my favorite: Aloo Masala, spiced potatoes cooked in ghee. The dosas I make at home may be slightly imperfect; they’re sometimes misshapen and are thicker and homier than those paper-thin restaurant options. But their tang and crunch take me back to my grandmother’s kitchen, both on the plate and in my heart. — Chandra Ram

Frequently asked questions

What is dosa batter made of?

The dosa batter is made with rice, urad dal (split lentils), and fenugreek seeds. You can find urad dal at most Indian grocery stores or at nuts.com. Rice, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds are thoroughly washed in running water, soaked overnight, and then ground before fermenting.

Why does dosa batter need to ferment? 

Fermentation is the process of converting carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids with the help of microorganisms. Lactobacillus bacteria, along with other microorganisms already present in lentils and rice (and in the air), will bring about the fermentation that contributes to the leavening or rising of the batter. This is the same bacteria that converts milk to yogurt, and it is the act of fermentation that gives dosa batter its characteristic taste, aroma, and ease of digestibility. The tiny fenugreek seeds contribute to the flavor and help maintain carbon dioxide, which makes the batter viscous by absorbing excess moisture and makes the dosa airy and fluffy. If your kitchen temperature is below 75°F, soak and ferment the dosa batter in a turned-off oven with oven light on; turn oven light off halfway through the process to prevent the batter from overheating.

Do I need special equipment to make dosa?

Use a high-speed blender to grind the soaked rice and urad dal for the dosa batter. Our testers found grinding the grains in three batches helped to ease the process. The dosa batter can be cooked in a cast-iron skillet. 

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

“The method for cooking the dosa is very similar to making crêpes. You want to work quickly and lightly spread batter to an even thickness,” says F&W recipe tester Melissa Gray. When cooking each dosa, flip to brown both sides for a crisper dosa. For a more tender version, just cook one side. Each dosa cooks in minutes, so have your filling at the ready. “Making dosas for the first time is bound to be a challenge, mainly in mastering the spread of the batter, but don’t despair,” says recipe developer Anita Jaisinghani. “Oddly shaped dosas might appear to be mistakes but will make delicious snacks as you go. The more you make dosas, the better you will get at creating your best versions.”

Make ahead

Dosa batter can be prepared through step 4 and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature, whisk well to recombine, and proceed with step 5 as directed.

Suggested pairing

A nutty pétillant naturel, such as Meinklang Weisser Mulatschak, pairs beautifully with dosas stuffed with aloo masala.